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Clan Moulder is the clan of Skaven race that love to meddle in bio-genetics. By grafting body part from different creatures they create monsters that rival Frankenstine’s. Clan Moulder also have an affinity with the smaller and more feral rat creatures that accompany the Skaven in to battle.

General Clan Moulder Tactics

It is possible, but rare to play a pure Clan Moulder army. If you do want to play a Clan Moulder only army then you will need a good number of Ratings Swarms and Giant Rats, herded by Pack Masters followed up with Rat Ogors, and a brood horror or two to tack on more difficult enemy units.

A more usual way to play Clan Moulder is to use them as auxiliary units to a more inclusive Skaven army. A common example of this is adding Pack Masters and Rat Ogers to back up basic Skaven, adding mussel when needed.

Clan Moulder Pack Master Tactics

Pack Masters are the core of Clan Moulder. The junior Pack Masters are in charge of herding swams of Rat Swarms and Giant Rats. More senior Pack Masters get to herd Rat Ogers that they have created. The most senior get to create the massive Hell Pit Abominations.

As the Pack Master has such a key role in the army in will be a key target for your enemy. Following this line of thought it makes sense to give your Pack Masters plenty of protection. This is where the Wolf Rats come in their own.

Pack Masters can be armed with one of three different herding tools/weapons. There is surprisingly little difference between the three weapons. The knife and whip has more attacks but causes less damage. The Shock Prod hits less frequently but causes plenty of damage if it does hit. The Thing Catcher lies somewhere in the middle.

Clan Moulder Rat Swarm Tactics

Rat Swarms are the smallest of the rat folk. They are so small several are placed on one base to make them large enough to make them playable. So does this mean that the Rat Swams should be overlooked? Absolutely not! I know that they will take wounds and they are not particularly quick, but 5 attacks per base adds up! One base with 5 attacks has a 55% chance of wounding (before saves). Add this to the 4 wounds per base and you can see that the Rat Swams will hang around longer than you would expect, and hopefully catch you opponent off guard!

As we see, each base of Rat Swarms has bite. But hang on, there’s more! The special rule will allow you to add an extra base to the unit each Hero Phase. This means that if you have a single base, and can keep it alive for one hero phase then you double its value by adding a second base to the unit. It also means that fielding two single bases is far more valuable than starting out with a unit of two! Make sure you have enough bases to allow for reinforcements. Remember that you can reuse dead units to act as newly spawned ones.

Because the Rat Swarms reproduce so quickly they are worth saving and allowing to grow in number before you send them in to the fight. Using them to defend an objective is a good example of this.

Clan Moulder Giant Rats Tactics

Larger than a rat swarm, but smaller than Skaven are Giant Rats.

Giant Rats definitely work better in larger numbers. If you look at the basic stats line their hit and wound rolls look terrible. 5+ to hit and 5+ to wound means you have a 1 in 9 or 11.11% chance of wounding per model! However if you look at the special rules you see that as packs get larger they get more useful too. With a pack of 10 you effectively only need to roll a 4+ to hit. This means that you have a 16.66% chance of wounding (before saves). With 20+ models in the pack you get +2 to hit and an extra attack. This is a 44.44% chance to wound per model! And with 30 models you get +3 to hit and 2 extra attacks each.

Skaven Clan Moulder Rather Ogor Tactics

Rat Ogors are Clan Moulder creations. As the name suggests they are Ogor sized rat creations that can add extra mussel to your army.

In the Skryre Skaven army the Warlocks are part engineer and part wizard.

Warlock Engineer Tactics

The Warlock Engineers have two main uses. The first is using their Warlock Pistol they can offer some covering fire as your clanrats some cover as they engage with the enemy, the other is as a wizard casting and unbinding spells. The Warlock Engineer does have a melee weapon, but he is far more useful behind the front line than he is in combat.

The Warlock Pistol is a one attack 9″ ranged weapon with the usual 3+,4+ to hit and wound (33.33% chance of wounding). So don’t depend on it wounding. However if it does wound then the -1 rend and D3 wounds will bite.

Skaven Skryre Warlock Engineer Magic

The Skaven Warlock Engineer can dispel one enemy spell if they are in range during the enemy command phase. This means that they are a useful addition to any units that are going wizard hunting.

The Skaven Warlock Engineer can cast the usual Mystic Shield and Arcane Bolt spells. If you are new to Age of Sigma battles I highly recommend that you get use to these spells as they will pop up very regularly.

The Warlock Engineers also has a signature spell Warp Lightning. This casts on a roll of 5+ on 2d6 and causes D3 wounds. So just like the Arcane Bolt. So why have a second spell? The first reason is that in games using the rule of one (found in the Generals Handbook) it means that you can fire off two Arcane Bolt like spells if you have 2+ wizards in your army. The second reason is that the Warp Lighting spell can be powered up by the Engineers Warp-power Accumulator! This causes the Warp Lightning spell to cause D6 mortal wounds instead of D3. Be careful though! If you use the Warp-power Accumulator and fail to get the spell off (eg. roll 4 or less) then it will back fire can cause 1 mortal wound to your Engineer!

So how can you increase the probability of getting spells off? One way way is to seek out Arcane scenery. If you are within 3″ of a piece of Arcane scenery then you get +1 to you spell cast roll. This means that you only have to roll 4+ to get the Warp Lightning spell of (11 in 12 chance of success). Another option is to take a Chaos Familiar. These add 1 to casting rolls for Chaos Wizards near by. Skaven Warlock Engineers are Chaos Wizards, so this would work. Note that taking one would make your army a Chaos Grand Alliance army and not a pure Skaven one. This in turn may affect some of the special rules available.

Where can I get Warlock Engineers?

The usual way to get Warplock Engineers is to go to the Games Workshop site. Also there is a Warlock Engineer in the ‘Spire of Dawn’ box set that is a splash re-release of the ‘Island of Blood’ 8th edition of Warhammer Fantasy models with Age of Sigmar rules (minus the rulers and dice!)

Chaos Skaven Skryre Arch-Warlock Tactics

If you want to scale up your Skaven Warlock Engineer then you get the Arch-Warlock Engineer. These grey bearded Skaven are the masters of their art.

There are differences between Skaven Warlocks and Arch-Warlocks, the main one is that the Arch-Warlocks only have a one shot ranged weapon but better melee weapons. This means that you will need to ballance the Arch-Warlock’s ranged magic with his combat skills and how valuable he is to your army.

The best way to balance the Arch-Warlock’s skills is to set him up with a heavy hitting bodyguard (Stormfeinds or Stormvermin), and may be your general, and then pick your fights carefully.

Skaven Arch-Warlock Strength and Weapons

As mentioned above the Arch-Warlock has a single shot weapon and two melee weapons.

The ranged weapon is a Warpfire Gauntlett. With a range of 8″ you will need to be in charge range for it to work. However it automatically hits and does D3 mortal wounds. This is a great way to peal off a few wound from a hero or monster just before getting into combat with them.

The Arch-Warlock’s melee weapons have quite a bite. The Piston Claw has the usual 33% chance of wounding and with a – 2 rend, a strong chance of causing its 3 damage. So one in 3 melee rounds he will be doing quite a lot of damage, if he lives long enough!

The Stormcage Halberd is a 2″ weapon with 2 attacks each with a better 44.44% chance of wounding. This works out at a 88% chance (most of the time) of landing a wound. Add with a -1 rend, and causing D3 damage and your Arch-Warlock is not to be sniffed at!

Chaos Spawn where humans that have been so warped by the forces that thwy are more animal than human. This warping also leads to the destruction of rational thought. This means that a couple of key abilities (movement and number of attacks), are random, and as you may have read elsewhere, I see randomness as the enemy of good tactics.

You can get Chaos Spawn in two different ways. The first is to have the Chaos Spawn as part of the starting army list as usual. The second is if a model (friend or foe) is warped bymagic are mishap and changed in to a Chaos Spawn.

General Chaos Spawn Tactics

Chaos Spawn are a bit of a wild card with random movement distance and number of attacks. If tou have some good rolls then they can cause a lot.of damage, however with a coupe of poor rolls your plans will fall apart!

The randomness that cause you so much hartache also is the Chaos Spawns strength. This is because although you don’t know quite what the Chaos Spawn will do, neither will your opponant! The difference is that you are the controling player so you can make best use of whatever the roll is.

So here is the key. The Chaos Sparn is a disruptor rather than a game winner in it’s own right. Use the Chaos Spawn to keep your enemy gussing and keep them havingto guard thier flanks and rear. It can really slow down an army if you have to cover many different possible counter attacks.

With the Chaos Spawns (eratic) speed you may be able to flank, or break through the enemys lines and threten softer units at the back.

Chaos Spawn Special Ability Writhing Tenticals

Chaos Spawn get 2D6 attacks per turn. That averages out at 7 attacks per combat round. That works out at 1.75 wounds a round. However the Chaos Spawn has another trick up it’s sleave. If you roll a double (which will happen 1 in 6 rolls) then you wound on a 3+ which nudges the average to 1.86 wounds a round before save rolls. The thing is is that the range of possible rolls is a much wider than many units, so use with care.

Chaos Warhounds are an often overlooked simple but very effective unit.

As dawn rose we faced the black armour shield wall of the Chaos Warriors. We expected them to march straight towards us at which point we would spring the trap and wipe them out. However just as they moved off a great howling came from behind the chaos lines and packs of black snarling hounds leaped through the lines towards us. Whith a shout of dispair our general realized that the hounds would spring the trap early and block the route of our cavelry to come to our aid. With that the Chaos Warroirs crashed in to our lines. Withiout support we where out numbered and out classed. The luck ones turned and fled the field, many where not so lucky.

General Warhound Tactics

The main strength of the warhounds is their speed. Moving at 10″ a turn and run 6“ and not D6“

With this speed they can keep up with cavelry units and drive a wedge between enemy units which makes for move bit sized targets for your other units. Remember that enemy units can not come closer than 3“ except when assaulting.

Warhound Weapons

This is easy, they just have claws and teeth. They get two attacks a turn with a 25% chance of wounding each. This means that you get a 50% chance of a wound each hound. A pack of hounds can inflict a godd number of wounds a turn.

Wounds, Saves and Bravery

Ok, this is where Warhounds are weak. With bravery 4, 1 wound and a 6+ save, your Warhounds will quickly disappear if they come under conserted attack.

Warhounds and the Generals Handbook

Warhounds are lusted in the Monsters of Chaos section. They are not battle line so the Warhounds should be added after you added your main units. The low points cost for the unit make it very desirable.

The Tzeentch Lord of Change is the post potent of the Tzeentch Daemon Lords. However the Lord of Change skills is not in close combat, but through the the manipulation of magic.

Tzeentch Lord of Change General Tactics

The Lord of Change makes for a natural general if you are fielding a Tzeentch army. His command ability ‘Beacon of Sorcery’ means that Tzeentch Daemon Wizards in the area ( including himself) can cast and dispel spells easier with a +1 bonus. This bonus can be used in conjunction with other bonuses like familiars and Arcane Ruins. Think about this for a moment. Spell casting on 2d6 means that the lowest roll is 2, plus 1 for a familiar, plus 1 for arcane ruins, plus 1 for the Lord of Change’s skills, means that the Tzeentch wizards will automatically pass difficulty 5 spells and difficulty 10 spells will pass most of the time.

The Lord of Change can fly too. This gives him a 10″ move. You can use this range to cast the Lord of Change’s influences where it is needed most, and gives him a good chance to run away if he is threatened by larger forces.

Tzeentch Lord of Change and Magic

Apart from the Lord of Change’s Command ability, he is also a powerful wizard in his own right. The Lord of Change can cast two spells in his turn and dispel two spells too. By default Change has fault the Lord the two basic spells plus his own signature spell ‘Infernal Gateway’. I say by default because the Lord of Change has a chance to steal spells that he unbinds.

Tzeentch Lord of Change – Spell Thief

In the abilities section we see that the Lord of Change can steal spells. Be aware that ‘stealing’ is not the right word as the original caster does not loose the spell taken, so plagiarising the spells may be more accurate!

What happens is that if the Lord of Change dispels a spell on a roll of 9+ ( after modifications) then he learns that spell and can use it later in the game. A roll of 9+ is usually well above average so it should not happen often, however if he evoked his command ability ‘Beacon of Sorcery’ in his last command phase then you get a +1 to dispel rolls. In addition if you can get any other bonuses to the roll that will help too.

In addition to the bonuses the Lord of change has an extra card up his sleeve, his ‘Mastery of Magic’ ability means that you can change the lower dice roll to match the higher one. So if you roll a 2 and a 6 you can change the 2 and have a double 6! This means that you have a 27 in 36 chance ( 75% ) of rolling 8+.

This ability to take use wizards spells may affect with spells your opponent uses. If he uses mystic shield or other spells that affect his own troops then you will not get a chance to steal it. If he uses Arcane Bolts on you then you have this spell already so no change there. And lastly, if he uses spells over 18″ away from your Lord of Change, then you will not be able to steal those either.

Where can I get a Tzeentch Lord of Change?

At the moment you can only buy the Tzeentch Lord of Change from the Games Workshop website.

“It was hidiouse! Truely hidiouse! Out of the darken clouds this creature if true evil dived down apon us, and riding this hell creature named Dorghar was Archaeon himself!

Archaeon did not waver, he struck for the General and his retenue. A roar rippled through the Chaos ranks, and the Chaos Heroes where energised with an unholy fevor.

Even befor the cry had died down Archaeon was smashing though the Silver Helms ranks. There was an Archmage on a Dragon. We thougt that it would be more than a match for Archaeon, but with a swipe of his sword the dragon’s head was lost, and with a snap of jaws Droghar took the mage. I swear Draghars head glowed!

I’m just glad Archaeon is on our side! Now pass that meade.”

General Tactics for Archaeon

Archaon’s warscroll comes with half s page of special rules. My top tip is to make sure that you know them all. The best way to do this is to set up a few models and roll the dice to see what happens!

Archaon and Dorghar’s Weapons and Armour

Archaon only has 1 weapon, The Slayer ok Kings, however it is a moster killing weapon. With 4 attacks hitting on 2+ and wounding on 3+, you should be getting 2 wounds in each combat turn with 3 Damage with each unsaved wounds Archaon can mess up enemy units without assistance. However The Slayer does have another trick. If you focuson killing just the one Hero or Monster, and you roll two or more 6’s to wound, the target is slain instantly. They don’t even get a save of any type.

The Daemon Dorghar has a number of attacks using his claws, tail, and three snarling, gnashing heads. At best this gives Dorghar 20 attacks per combat round.

AoS Soul Grinder Tactics

The AoS Soul Grinder is a model that was created for the Warhammer 40k Chaos Daemon army but has been imported in to the Warhammer 8th edition and Age of Sigmar games.

The Soul Grinder is quite a monster. It has 16 wounds, a bravery score of 10 and an arsenal of missile and melee weapons. It is fast too. Unwounded the Soul Grinder can move 12″ plus the usual D6 inch run if you want to too. On top of this the Soul Grinder gets a special rule with one of it’s melee weapons you get a 1 in 6 chance to cause 6 mortal wounds to a Hero or Monster that you are in close combat with.

You will want to be sure that fielding the Soul Grinder will not disrupt the balance of the game. It’s one thing to use a powerful model to win a battle, but if the games are too one sided you will find that no one will want to play with you!

So what is the best roll for the Soul Grinder? Well it looks like an army in one model. There is a lot to be said for using the Soul Grinder in a shock troop role, smashing in to, and hopefully through the enemy lines causing chaos and disruption as it goes. While the Soul Grinder is causing mayhem you can use your other units to focus on the objective and win the real game!

Summoning a Soul Grinder

Chaos Wizards can summon a Soul Grinder as a spell in your Hero Phase. As you may expect, this is not easy. With a casting value of 10 the summoning spell should only work 1 in 6 tries. If you want to summon a Soul Grinder you need to have some bonuses on your side ( a familiar, near a magic alter is arcane scenery etc).

AoS Soul Grinder Strength and Weapons

The Soul Grinder comes with a whole arsenal of weapons. There are two shooting weapons, the Harvester Cannon and the Phlegm (pronounced flem) Bombardment. There are also 3 melee weapons, Piston Legs, the Helforged Claw, and either a Warpmetal Blade or a Daemonbone Talon.

AoS Soul Grinder Harvester Cannon

The Harvester Cannon has a16″ range. In Age of Sigmar games this plenty of rage to dominate most of the gaming table.Specially if you have your Soul Grinder towards the middle of the table. The Harvester Cannon has a variable number of attacks, depending on the number of wounds it has received. This starts at D6 attacks and diminishes down to 1 attack when the Soul Grinder is nearly dead!

The strength of the Harvester Cannon is it’s number of attacks as the hit and wound stats are average, although it does have a -1 rend.

AoS Soul Grinder Phlegm Bombardment

First of, just in case you are wandering how to say phlegm, it sounds like flem.

The Phelegm Bombardment only has 1 attack a turn, but this is a 20″ ranged weapon. This means that you can fire it outside of the range of most magic spells, just. You will need to be careful of the distance measuring though. The extra 2″ does not give you a lot of leeway..

The to hit and wound stats are average again, but if you do wound you get -2 rend and cause 3 wounds.

AoS Soul Grinder Piston Driven Legs

When it comes to close combat you will find that you will get most of your attacks from it’s Piston Driven Legs. The Piston Legs have 6 attacks when the Soul Grinder is at full strength. This number of attacks diminishes as the Soul Grinder takes on wounds.

The Piston Driven Legs have a standard 4 to hit and 3 to wound. Attacks have a -1 rend when they do hit though.

AoS Soul Grinder Hell Forged Claw

The Hell Forged Claw is another close combat weapon that all Soul Grinders have. It s a single attack weapon with an average chance of hitting ( 4+ to hit, 3+ to wound). If you hit you will do D6 wounds at -2 rend. however the Hell Forged Claw comes with a special rule. If you hit a Hero or Monster you play a ‘stick, paper, stones’ type of guessing game with your opponent with dice. If you win you get to inflict 6 mortal wounds on that Hero or Monster. Note that if you kill that model any unused mortal wounds can not be applied to any other unit that the Soul Grinder is is combat with.

AoS Soul Grinder Warp Metal Blade

Soul Grinders have either a Warp Metal Blade or a Daemonbone Talon. The Warp Metal Blade looks like a sword with the sword point smashed off.

The Warp Metal Blade gives you 2 close combat attacks with the usual 4+, 3+ to hit and wound. If you do wound you get -2 rend and 3 wounds. This can be useful when taking on armoured opponents.

AoS Sol Grinder Daemonbone Talon

The Daemonbone Talon is a crab claw affair that some Soul Grinders have instead of a Warp Metal Blade. The Daemonbone Talon gives you 4 close combat attacks with a slightly better chance of hitting ( 3+ & 3+ to hit and wound). However successful wounds only have -1 rend and a random ( D3 ) damage.

The choice of taking a Warp Metal Blade or a Daemonbone Talon is usually take when you build the model and based on what you think looks best. However with a bit of simple modelling you could use mini magnets to allow you to swap the weapons before the start of the battle depending on which weapon you think will perform the best.

Gargants or ‘Aleguzzlers’ are Giants. All giants are monsters too. Gargants appear in several armies so if you play Chaos, Orcs, Ogors, then they can be a flexible addition to your model collection.

Chaos Gargants do not have the ‘Chaos’ keyword, however it is quite reasonable to have a Chaos Gargant as part of a Chaos army.

Gargants are monsters but they are not invulnerable. Like most monsters they start dropping in speed and hitting power as they take on wounds. You only have to take.2 wounds before the giant starts slowing down.

Special Rule – Drunken Swagger

I am glad to see that the unstable nature of giants has made the transition from Warhammer 8th edition to Age of Sigmar. In AoS this is captured in the ‘Drunken ‘Swagger’ special rule. Basically on the roll of a double when charging the giant falls over. This could potentially squash friendly units near by. The cure fir this is to give the giant a wide birth before you let them charge in!

Special Rule – Stuff’Em In Me Bag

This is a great rule to use if you are in hand to hand combat with lots of little creatures ( Chaos Warriors and smaller ). Basically just before you make your normal attacks you see if you can grab a model and take it out of play ( treat it as a combat casualty ). You can do this both in your turn and your opponents turn if you are still in combat. Bag Stuffed casualties count for battle shock too.

The best bit about this rule is that you get to choose who gets stuffed! The model chosen has to be in 1″, but as giants are so big there will be plenty of choice. The natural choice will be to pick the boss man of which ever unit is attacking you. If the chosen model has 1 wound normally ( not the number of wounds left after taking damage ) then you have 4 in 6 chance of Stuffing them. If the model starts with 2 wounds then you will stuff them half the time ( 3 in 6 chance ). Models with 3 wounds will only get stuffed occasionally ( 1 in 6 times ).

YouTube video featuring an AoS Gargant

General AoS Herald of Tzeentch Tactics

Azan the Arcane and Herald of Tzeentch gazed over the green skin horde menacingly. “You will know the power of Tzeentch today and kneel before your new god!” With that Azan bellowed his incantation and a host of Tzeentch daemons materialised in response to his call!

The Herald of Tzeentch is a Daemon, Hero, Wizard. He has access to the two basic spells and his own ‘Blue Fire of Tzeentch’ too.His close combat skills are not great, but he does get a shooting attack using ‘Magical Flames’. The other main feature is that the Herald of Tzeentch is riding a Disc of Tzeentch. This means that he has great speed and the fly special rule. This in turn means that you can zip him around the gaming table offering magical support where ever you need it.

The Herald of Tzeentch Model

Games Workshop have recently recreated the Herald of Tzeentch model, and I have to say that they have done an excellent job! The detail of the new model is stunning and makes for a worthy figure head for a daemon army.

When building the model there are areas that are visible but hard to paint once the model has been created. This means that you will want to build the disc and figure as separate sections, paint each section individually and then glue them together.

The Herald of Tzeentch model is detailed and very delicate. Be aware that you will want a quality storage case. This is specially true if you are playing games away from home and need to carry your models to games.

Summoning the Herald of Tzeentch

If you have one or more Chaos wizards in your army then have the ability to summon up a Herald of Tzeentch as their spell for that round.

The summon spell for a Herald of Tzeentch has a casting value of 5. This means that it is fairly easy to do and you can expect it to go off most of the time.

The Herald of Tzeentch on Burning Chariot

Azan flew across the battlefield continually confounding the green skins chasing him and using his arcane skills to bolster the Tzeentch forces. Some he made more powerful and some he aided by smiting the green skins creating openings for the Tzeentch forces.

The Herald of Tzeentch can ride a burning chariot. This gives the Herald the fly special rule and 14″ a turn moment around the gaming table. The downside of this is that you may find it difficult to have a unit keep up with him as a bodyguard. There are stable units in the Chaos Daemons army if you want to organise bodyguards. Screamers of Tzeentch fill this role nicely. Otherwise have your Herald jump from unit to unit so that there is always some support to hand.

Burning Chariot Special Rule – Wake of Fire

Riding on a Burning Chariot gives you an extra attack called ‘Wake of Fire’. This attack comes in your movement phase. If you pass over one or more enemy units you can select one of these units and on a roll of 4+ you inflict D3 mortal wounds. Be careful when you plan your move. You want to make sure that you finish your move somewhere safe.

Notice that the Herald of Tzeentch on a Burning Chariot has a casting value of 9. This means that summoning the Herald will be much more difficult so you may want to start the game with the Herald on the table.

Screamers of Tzeentch Special Rule – Sky Sharks

The Screamers of Tzeentch pulling the get the Sky Shark special rule that regular Screamers of Tzeentch get,and as there are 2 Screamers you get 6 attacks. Note that they do not get the Skyshark special rule as this attack has been replaced by the ‘Wake of Fire’ special rule.